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Understanding the License Disclosure

Every app on ScripTreeApps shows a "What you're paying for" panel. This panel tells you exactly what software you're buying, what license terms apply, and what open-source components are bundled with the app.

The two sections

Section 1: Your license

This is the license for the app you're purchasing. It tells you what rights the app developer is granting you when you buy.

Examples:

  • "MIT" — a permissive open-source license; you can use the software freely
  • "Proprietary" — the developer owns this code; you're licensed to use it but can't modify or redistribute
  • "Apache-2.0" — another permissive open-source license

If you're unsure what a license means, ScripTreeApps provides a summary with each one. You can also research the license identifier online or contact our support team.

Section 2: Bundled software

Many apps rely on open-source libraries or tools. This section lists those components so you know they're part of the app.

Example: An image-editing app might bundle ImageMagick (a popular image library) under the Apache 2.0 license. You'll see:

  • Component name: "ImageMagick"
  • Version: "7.1.0"
  • License: "Apache-2.0"
  • Links to the license text and the project website

Important: The bundled components stay under their original licenses. Your purchase gives you the right to use the app; it does NOT change the terms of the bundled software.

The "Auto-detected" badge

You may see a small "Auto-detected" badge next to a component in Section 2. This meansScripTreeApps extracted that information automatically from the app's metadata files rather than from the developer typing it in manually.

Why this matters: Auto-detected information is often more reliable because it comes from the app's own files (e.g., a manifest of dependencies). It's less likely to have typos or errors.

Why is the Buy button disabled?

If you see a message like "Coming soon" instead of a Buy or Get Free button, it's because the app developer hasn't finished their license disclosure yet.

ScripTreeApps requires every app to have a complete, reviewed disclosure before it's available for purchase. This protects you by ensuring you always know exactly what you're buying and what open-source software is included.

The developer can finish their disclosure by logging into ScripTreeApps, reviewing the disclosure form, and confirming that all the information is correct.

What if a disclosure looks wrong?

If you think the license disclosure for an app is inaccurate or incomplete — for example, if a bundled component is listed with the wrong license, or if something is missing — contact our support team.

Include:

  • The name of the app
  • What seems wrong about the disclosure
  • If you know the correct information, share that too

We'll investigate and may update the disclosure or remove the listing if necessary.

Can I get a refund if the disclosure wasn't accurate?

ScripTreeApps offers a 14-day refund policy for all purchases. If you discover that an app's disclosure was inaccurate and you want your money back, you have 14 days from purchase to request a refund.

See How to request a refund for more details.

Open-source licenses, explained simply

If you see a bundled component and don't recognize the license, here's a quick guide to the most common ones:

Permissive licenses (you can use the software freely)

  • MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause: Permissive licenses. You can use, modify, and redistribute the software. You just have to keep the license text.
  • ISC: Very similar to MIT — simple, permissive.

Copyleft licenses (stricter; require sharing improvements)

  • GPL-2.0, GPL-3.0: "Strong copyleft." If you modify the software, you have to share your changes under the same GPL license.
  • LGPL-2.1, LGPL-3.0: "Weak copyleft." Less strict than GPL; you can use the software in proprietary apps.
  • MPL-2.0: "Weak copyleft," similar to LGPL.

Public domain / no attribution (use as you wish)

  • Unlicense, CC0-1.0: Public domain; no restrictions.

The bottom line: All of these licenses are legal and safe. They just have different rules about how you can use and share the software. The important thing is that you know what's bundled with your app.

More information

For a deeper dive into open-source licensing, visit choosealicense.com or opensource.org.

Still have questions?

Contact our support team — we're happy to explain any part of the disclosure or help you understand what a specific app includes.